


On Target

by ToughPaperRound



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, First Meetings, M/M, Photography
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-18
Updated: 2018-11-02
Packaged: 2019-07-13 13:19:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16018748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ToughPaperRound/pseuds/ToughPaperRound
Summary: Alec has been asked to pose for a photo for a calendar, raising much-needed cash for equipment for the local Brooklyn Archery Club.Agreeing to it is a decision he regrets. And then he doesn't.An archery club/Calendar Girls AU





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks are due to the Malec Big Bang 2018.  
> Aswell as reading some great fiction there, I met (and was given the pleasure of beta-ing for) the writers Mansikka and CryptidBane. Now they have been kind enough to beta / doula / midwife this work for me and I'm very grateful! Especial thanks to Mansikka for the tech consultancy <3
> 
> This work is written in UK English. It's just the way we do things here.  
> You like your Malec fiction a little more serious? We're all here to have a bit of fun aswell though, right?  
> We can make this a one-time thing, no strings, whaddya think?

  
  
  
Clary decides to meet Alec at the clubhouse, all the better to drag him away on time so they can catch the Tuesday movie together. It’s her only chance this week to be able to get Alec to socialise, he's working towards another big competition and needs to wind down a little.

She arrives to hear excited hubbub & Alec refusing something point blank… 

“I just don't have the time, the Regional Competition is THIS weekend you know! Have you forgotten?” 

She hears the Committee member, placating, “No, we realise that of course! The planning proper is set to start next week, no worries. The shoot itself will be very soon, so that the athletes are all in peak condition, but this calendar shoot will not be a distraction for their prep. Please Alec, we really need as many volunteers as we can get. I mean we are really close to 12 models now but the twins insist on being in the same shot and I'm worried some of them will back out at the last minute....”

 

Clary whispers to Simon, “What photographs? Is this for the website again? Why is Alec moaning, he's already in more than half of the shots on there!! Boy, the camera loved him that day!!” 

Simon whispers back, “Ha, more like the cameraman luurved him!! No,” he continues, “This is for a fundraiser, it’s an all new idea & a rush job to be ready for Xmas. A team Calendar! It's gonna be awesome!

“OMG! Will there be firefighters and hoses?!!!! NHL players and abandoned puppies???!!!!!” Clary shrieks.

 

They all look at her. Too late, she realises she'd stopped whispering. Umm. 

“No, Clary, this is a Brooklyn Archery Club Calendar.” corrects Alec. “It will be shots of training sessions being run at the club. Just like on our highly popular website.” Eyebrows are raised in the room.

“Umm, actually, Alec…”

“No way! It'll be cheesy, tacky, ridiculous. No way I can do that!! Count me out!”

“No, it will be tastefully done,” Tessa assures him. “I’m afraid I can’t do the photography cos I’m already booked on a long project in Norway. But my Cousin Cat said she can do it in just a few weeks time, if we get her a studio space. She'll be amazing, her work is like magic, Alec, really magic.”

 

Clary steps up and grabs Alec's elbow. “C'mon Alec, you can think about it later, right now we need to get to the movie! Sorry folks, tickets are paid for, time waits for no Archer! Byeee!” She tips a slow conspiratorial wink at Simon behind Alec's back as she pushes him out of the clubhouse. He knows he can trust her to convince Alec if anybody can.

 

***

***

 

Alec has been a member of Brooklyn Archery Club for a decade now and some of the equipment was old when he joined....! He’s always been made to feel very comfortable at the club. It’s been a steady place to go and focus, away from whatever else is changing in his life. The club needs funds despite its popularity because there were irregularities in the bank account during the previous year when Jonathan Morgenstern was Club Treasurer. It frustrates Alec that he could easily pay for the new targets out of his trust fund but he knows his parents would have a conniption when they found out. They are already furious with him for prioritising his college education over representing Lightwood Gym in National MMA competitions. The fact that he has continued with archery as a serious hobby is a blue touchpaper he doesn't want to light. He is resigned to the fact that they don't want to try to understand.

Two Club Committee Members (and boy, they wear those capital letters like a medal) chatted with him during the jubilant journey back from the Regionals, hoping to catch him in his good mood to convince him to take part. They had seemed to particularly want him as a model in order to "increase their diversity quotient."  
(Good grief NOW they get that he can be both gay AND an excellent athlete?). What will they ask him to pose with, a rainbow flag and a ruddy disco ball? 

He’s almost convinced himself to grit his teeth and go through with it (provided it IS as tasteful as Tessa assured), though he won’t tell the Committee Members that yet. He came out as gay when he was 15 but he’s not one to wave the flag about anything, much less sex or sexuality. He wishes he could refuse the Awful Calendar Thing so that he can be quiet about his sex life.

Meanwhile, his ‘rich-white-boy guilt’ is guilting him into saying yes.

 

He needs to sleep on this again.

 

***

 

 

 

***

 

To share or interact with ToughPaperRound... here is [a handy link on Tumblr](https://toughpaperround.tumblr.com/post/178425810198/chapter-2-of-on-target-is-up-on-ao3)


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updated to insert a missing part to the screenshots in Chapter 2. Oops!

 

**The next week.**

Simon excitedly shows Ragnor and Catarina into the office part of the club house and they all sit around the table, determined to sort out the details for the calendar.

“Can I introduce you both?”, suggests Cat. “This is Ragnor, my partner and regular photographic assistant. And this,” she gestures across to the excited young man, “is the lovely Simon from the Archery Club who has been helping me beautifully so far”.

 

“OK, thanks! Good to meet you at last Ragnor.” Simon begins, “Catarina, Cat, first I want to say thank you again from the club, it was so marvellous of you to agree to give your time for this fundraiser and we're so excited to see your work, Tessa was practically gushing about how magical you are behind the camera. And well, behind the laptop and on the phone and all the other parts of your job as well I guess. And when I heard you had shot some Vogue covers, I mean well I was amazed and then...”

Catarina and Ragnor exchange a look.

“Well, ahem, yes it's been ace to have you visiting the clubhouse to talk with all the models, I know a lot of them were super-nervous and now they really have a good idea of what to expect. Well, I know I certainly do. I was very nervous but I couldn't show it cos I wanted to encourage some more volunteers and well…”

 

“My god, do you ever stop talking? Breathe!!!”, snaps Ragnor.

“Yes thank you Simon for those lovely words, how about we crack on with getting these details sorted out?”, Cat interrupts before Simon can say more, but with a smile for him to balance out Grumpy Ragnor.

“Now I brought this old Year planner, and lots of post-it notes, see? I was thinking we could write up all the models’ details, stick them on the right months on the planner, and then work on filling any gaps.”

“Sounds great!”, Simon says.

 

“It has been really important for me to meet every model this week, partly because it means I can put them at a little more ease and on the day we can hope that they will be calm and comfortable. But, also because it means we can get a solid idea about what poses we can do for each model, and we can make sure we have found all the props we need.”

“Now, for some of the models it was obvious only one idea would really work well so let's start with them.”

“Ragnor will you make out the ‘shopping list’ as we go along, please, dear?” asks Cat. Ragnor gets out his notepad & a stubby pencil.

 

“Ok, so first of all shall we add you on here, Simon? Now Ragnor, you'll laugh at this because I said to Simon that he'd make a great ‘Mr December’ in a cute skimpy Santa outfit, right?”

“Yes, and then I said 'No way can I do that! My rabbi would object for sure! But if you can find a large enough menorah I can certainly get behind that!’”, giggles Simon.

“My goodness can you imagine!! Thankfully he was absolutely joking! So we thought instead he could be ‘Mr September’, stood against a tree with an apple on his head”, adds Cat.

“Like Whatsisname in the legend with the arrow?”, Ragnor asks, dumbfounded.

“Yup!”

“Well, OK, so far we need: one tree; one bag apples, assorted. Easy”, Ragnor notes.

“Will we also require a blindfold?”

 

“Ha! Moving on now, this model,” Cat breezes onwards, pointing at her test shot of a young man, “he opted to straddle a vintage motorbike as a prop. He's even organised a local bike dealer to sponsor that month in the Calendar, and to provide the bike. He'll be wearing a friend's boots and leather trousers, and bringing a few different vest top options. But he told me he was happy to go topless if he can sit on this beauty of a bike.”

“So all we need to do is make sure we can roll the bike into the studio space then?” asks Ragnor.

“Yup, easy!”

 

“Next, this guy, Sebastian.” says Cat. “Stunning! But a little strange. I wasn't at all sure about him even though we only had a few minutes together.”

“Hmm, he sure does look stunning. But I’m afraid even after intensive coaching in the club for the last few months, he can barely recall how to hold a bow.”, advised Simon.

“Perhaps he could manage if he were given a Crossbow to hold moodily instead?” asks Ragnor.

“It's worth a try! I'll organise that”, agrees Simon.

 

“Ok! Another guy I thought perhaps would work well with a simple archery pose is this one, Alec. He's certainly got the moody, tall, dark and handsome look down!”

“He and I had a long chat to make sure he's comfortable. He was really uneasy about the teasing shots with all the quivers, costumes and various props. He simply didn't get the point of them? I delved into his hobbies, his work etc and nothing really seemed right for an idea for a pose. For example, he's a student who wants to become a Junior school teacher."

“He's the only out LGBTQ model we have for this shoot but he was adamant we couldn't use that as a theme, either. At first he seemed terrified that I was going to _force_ him to pose as ‘Mr June’ wearing only a pair of glittery rainbow booty shorts.”

 

Simon gulps quietly in the corner of the room looking a little dazed.

“But of course we aren't about making anybody uncomfortable!”

Cat continues, “I asked to see pictures from his competition days when I heard he competed for the Lightwood MMA gym. The costume is very simple, it could work well as a pose, but he said that for the last few years he hasn't competed and only spars with his siblings to keep fit and help them train. He focuses now on his studies, and on archery competitions. Basically he wasn't comfortable with any pose except being an archer!”

 

“He even said to me,” and here Cat giggles before lowering her voice and imitating Alec's confused tone, “‘Isn’t this an Archery Calendar? Why can’t I be an Archer?’ and then I got a lightbulb moment when I thought of his recent win in the Regionals and suggested he pose with his trophy held in front of himself… but well…”, Cat trails off giggling.

“Ha!”, giggles Simon aswell, “I see the problem, yes, that ‘trophy’ is in fact... an engraved glass salver!”

“Oh, not opaque glass, by any chance?”, asks a smirking Ragnor.

“Nope,” deadpans Cat, “completely translucent.”

 

“Anyway, having seen his build, how body-confident he is, and those amazing rune tattoos he has on his arms and torso, I thought that a simple image of him taking a shot at the target would work very well. I have a few ideas on angles and lighting, and he was happy with all of my suggestions. The most likely one is a shot of him drawing back on his bow with his back to the camera, cropped at the hips.”

“He'll wear his plain black compression shorts from the gym, and he's going to use a traditional wooden bow rather than the complex modern ones he’d use for competitions. Plain and simple!”

Ragnor raises an eyebrow and queries, “So, no quiver required?”

“Not here, thanks Ragnor, we just need the standard background cloth and the full indoor lighting rig. Now, what month will Alec be?”, ponders Cat. “Perhaps a sweltering hot summer month? We have gaps for both July and August so far. Yes, I can see this is coming on well!”

 

“How about some coffee before we plough on through the year, Cat dear?”, suggests Ragnor. “Let's take a break.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now then, here's a question! Is this a Calendar Girls fanfiction as a Malec AU...  
> ...or is it a Malec fanfiction as a Calendar Girls AU?
> 
> Fans of that excellent UK film, Calendar Girls, will no doubt spot a line taken directly from the dialogue. And of course throughout the work there are re-enjoyed lines from the Shadowhunters TV series. This work of fiction is an appreciation, not a copy.
> 
> Chapter 2, by the way was updated last week to re-insert a missing part to the screenshots. Oops!

The models finally arranged across the year planner to their satisfaction, the group switch to discussing timings. Simon is to arrange a shoot day in the clubhouse for the few models who will pose with bows.

Catarina has the use of a friend's studio space for two further days, for all the other models. She will rely heavily on Ragnor to shop for props ahead of the sessions, and to assist in his usual grumpy manner with the hot lights, holding reflectors, and moving backdrops, furniture etc. Maia, an old friend from their local bar will be available in the days for make-up and styling assistance. Cat looks forward to an experienced team to run these few relaxing fun sessions.

They aim to have all the photography completed over the coming week. Cat has already blocked out some hours in the week following that one to edit the images, leaving just enough time to print and distribute the Calendars ahead of the Christmas rush.

There is a local cafe, called Taki's, where all the club members go for their pre-comp protein shakes and their celebration burgers & margaritas. Generously, they have agreed to sponsor the print costs for the calendar. They are also going to provide baked goods to use as props for ‘Miss May’. She really enjoys baking, and her birthday is in May. Sorted! “Just let us know if you're gonna need to have bigger buns, OK?”

  
***

 

 

***

 

_The next week_

“Magnus, my darling, my love!”  
_“Cat - what do you need?”_  
“Can’t I just ring up to have a chat  & invite you for dinner at our place?”  
_“Apparently not, since I haven’t been round to yours for 7 weeks now.”_  
“Hmmmph.”  
_“Soooo…”_  
“So. Umm, you heard that Ragnor got mugged  & was badly hurt yesterday?”  
_“Yes, the poor cabbage! I left him a voicemail asking if he was alright but not heard back. Is he OK?”_  
“Yes, a very sore strain injury to his shoulder, so he’s strapped up. Mostly hurt pride, I think. Those demons! Wait till I get hold of them.”  
_“Absolutely darling, I would be emigrating if it were me… Listen, tell Ragnor he can borrow my Thai silk sling if he wants too, and I hope he feels well enough to be just grumpy again very soon? I’ve sent him a gift basket of green vegetables, he needs to keep his strength up.”_  
“Thanks! Well anyway, Ragnor was down to be my assistant for a shoot for the next two days… and I was wondering…?”  
_“Long-suffering sigh.”_  
“Did you just say, ‘Long-suffering sigh’?”  
_“Yup. Uuurgh. Is it in New York state, at least? And daytime hours?”_  
“Yes! Brooklyn, all indoors, office hours, nothing too heavy to do. You know the drill for everything I'll need from you, Magnus.  
It’s a charity calendar shoot, by the way.”  
_“Oh, my favourite photography goddess! Why didn’t you tell me that straight away! Count me in darling.”_  
“OK! We’ll pick you up at 8am for the first day tomorrow.”  
_“I’ll be waiting on the street!! Oh! Cat, wait!”_  
“Mmhmmm?”  
_“The models. Will they be, errrm… firefighters? Or athletes? Or (gulp) delightfully characterful Senior Citizens??”_  
“Athletes, darling.”  
_“Eeeek! I’m calling Santiago right now to cover my shifts at Pandemonium. I’m owed time off for sure.”_  
“You sure are, sweetpea. How long is it since you last went on a date, hmm?”  
_“Too long, Cat, my love, my dearest heroine. Too long.”_

 

***

 

_Studio session_

“Well, I for one am supremely glad we’ve seen the last of Ms Camille,” huffed Magnus as a tall girl swept out of the studio door, her entourage in tow.  
“Oh, you’re not alone honey!” agreed Maia, pouncing on her work space to reclaim it after it had been defiled by Camille’s own make-up artist.

“Ragnor you did very well restraining yourself, darling, I honestly thought you would pop an artery when her stylist told you to fetch him a macchiato!”

“I was just too stunned by La Camille’s ‘tan’ to really get my head around anything else”, Ragnor says, picking up Camille’s headshot photo again to compare the sepia image burnt onto his retina with the photographic evidence of her natural (very) pale tones. “And to think she insisted on being ‘Miss January’? How ridiculous for that time of year!”

“Hmm, Simon reckoned she wanted to be the first image seen on the calendar. You know she’s only just joined the club? Such a spoilt rich kid, urrrgh”, shudders Cat. “Well, we certainly managed to get a few options shot and I only made some bland promises about what would be used. That’s a battle for another day.”  
“Heehee Ragnor,” says Maia as she cracks up over her cleaning, “your idea of making her into an Australian-style Miss January was inspired. Her face when you found the tinnies and a barbeque was a picture. Pleeeease, can we use that photo?”

“Now those twins, they were a lovely pair of lads. So down-to-earth! And handsome as you like, too! Which one was the prettier, do you think?”

The twins had posed as if they were playing some one-on-one at a basketball hoop. They wore baggy gym shorts, with one twin wearing a small vest top, the other topless. They were clearly a very non-stop, competitive pair, and Cat had chosen well to have them doing something so active.

They had kept the photographic team on their toes, playing pranks and constantly trying to prove they were the better model. Cat had to call a timeout, begging for some peace and quiet for ten minutes! Bruises were not quite the aesthetic she was looking for here.

Trying to capture a good clear shot of the twins as they leapt in front of the hoop was certainly a challenge, but it made for a fun contrast with the very static poses of most of the other models.

Another young model that day had chosen to be photographed sitting at an upright piano. She’d played beautiful Chopin pieces whilst they set up & shot in the studio - it really calmed the mood from the nervous giggles of the previous model, the delightful baker Miss May who'd posed behind a towering display of buns.

Towards the end of the day, Ragnor wanders out from the area where they keep the props, shuddering in horror because someone had managed to leave out a pair of fur-trimmed, shiny red Speedos on display for him. His phone number is printed across the back.  
“No! No! No! It doesn't matter how desperate you all are, I won’t deign to be ‘Mr December’!”, insists Ragnor.  
“You're quite right, Ragnor, my sweet-tempered cabbage,” agrees Magnus quickly. “No, you'd look so much better as an elf. Green suits you so well!”

  
Cat reflects that she has spent most of her time today asking for quiet from her assistants, if not from the models. “It's not like this at Vogue”, she thinks fondly. “Nope, this is much more fun!”

  
“Well, time to go hit Taki’s folks, the burgers are on me”, says Cat out loud. “Don’t forget to check you have collected everything though, cos tomorrow we are going to be working from the Archery Club House.”

  
***

 

_The next day_

“No, Alec, I don't care what you say!” exclaimed an exasperated Izzy. “Big bro, I'm putting my foot down! You need to visit the barber this morning, even if I have to chauffeur you around so you can get everything done on time!”

Alec is still anxious about this calendar idea. Not just the concept of being in print, but the photography session too. But after talking his worries over with his sister he has a resolve to get this shoot done now.

If nothing else, he wants to prove to his brother that he can do this. Jace is always bragging about how the camera loves him after photoshoots for his sponsors. The last one he did was for a brand of cat food and he’d posed with a cute kitten in each hand. He was gurning and pulling bicep curls with a ridiculous amount of flex across his torso. Alec has a print of that one framed in his downstairs loo.

Thanks to Izzy then, Alec arrives five minutes early for his time slot with the photographer. He's fresh from the barber, showered and ready to go. He's still heartily wishing that he'd never allowed himself to be talked into doing this thing.

 

Today the club house feels unusually quiet, being set aside for Catarina's work for the afternoon. As he enters the building, Alec hears a voice exclaim, “Who are you!?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By the way, I know we said this was only going to be a one-time thing... but you seem nice. If you like this work, you may also like my telling of Matt’s future-SH-on-the-moon tale from the OZ ComicCon 2018?  
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/16158374


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Malec meet!

Alec walks into the club house, and he hears a voice exclaim, “Who are you!?”

The owner of the voice is surrounded by the large ladders and lighting equipment which seem so out of place in Alec's familiar space.

“I'm Alexander, errm I mean Alec. I'm here to errr model for Catarina today. I have a key so I let myself in, is that OK?”

A man straightens and steps forward, and Alec gets an impression of skin glowing warmly compared to Alec's pale complexion. Next he sees smoothly-styled, dark hair, trimmed very short at the sides.

Slim, smart navy jeans topped with a patterned close-fitting shirt and a soft blue suit jacket. Alec can see that the jacket clings snugly to the young man's arms and broad shoulders. His voice is warm, confident… loud and clear without being brash. His eyes are inquisitive and look up at Alec with interest.

All Alec knows is that he wants to know more about this man.

And… that if this gorgeous man is here to be a model then Alec is sure the calendar will sell out on the day it is published.

 

***

 

Cat steps forward quickly to greet Alec warmly, and introduce him to her assistants Ragnor, Maia, and finally Magnus. Alec tries not to meet those bright eyes, for fear he will blush and stammer. He’s here to do a job!

“Are you ready to jump right into those 3 postures we talked over, Alec?”

“Ready as I'll ever be”, agreed Alec.

Catarina patted his arm happily. “Ok, so first please pop into the changing room and strip down to your costume which is your gym shorts. You'll find a robe in there to keep you warm. Ah, I see you remembered what I said about not wearing anything with tight elastic that would leave marks on your skin today. Great!”

“Once you’re changed, Alec, let's have you over to our lovely Maia here for make-up. These lights can be harsh without it.”

Alec changes quickly and shrugs on the comfortable robe. He's delighted to have found one that actually covers his knees, for once. “Ummm, OK? Is the make-up really necessary?”, he asks of Cat and her assistant Maia as he is pressed into a chair in front of the mirror.

Maia, frowning, takes a long appraising look at Alec in the mirror. She exhales deeply, rolls her shoulders, cricks her neck, and fully rolls out her entire toolkit.

“Yup, it absolutely is necessary here, Alexander. Sit comfortably and we'll begin.”

“Umm, actually it's Alec.”

“Hey Alexander! Shape up! If you are to fulfil your part as a male romantic lead in this work then you have to be on top form.”

“Now then…”, (she dabs a little concealer under Alec's eyes, runs a clear mascara over his eyelashes and floofs a little powder to cover any shine under the lights. Next, a brief run through his hair with product to effect an effortlessly controlled ‘mess’ and…)  
“...and, done”, Maia smirks.

“Now, before I exit never to be seen again, I get to amusingly reveal that you needed far less cosmetic work than anyone else in this piece. And that includes that eejit Sebastian who's up next.”

“Now, ‘Go Get It’ before I split another infinitive!”

“O-kaaay. Thanks Maia. I'll just leave you to it now.” says Alec as he withdraws to where Cat is waiting patiently.

 

***

  
***

 

“Ooh! I have a new sling for you today, Ragnor, my darling cabbage! It will be so comfortable for you, but I hoped it might also improve your sludgy mood?”, says Magnus. He hands Ragnor a sparkly red sling which is trimmed with white fur.

With a, “Hmmph, not December!!!”, it is thrown as far as he is able across the hall and lands on a piece of gym equipment.

“Boys, boys! Please let’s settle back to work now that Alec is ready!”, hisses Cat. Out loud she adds, “Alec! Are you ready? Do come over here and we’ll work on the back-shot first.”

Alec plasters on a stiff, determined smile as he strides across the hall to join the team. First he collects the traditional-style bow they’d planned to use, then fills a quiver which he will let hang low-slung on his hip. He stands on his mark as the final readings are made before Cat prompts him to disrobe. He has a brief moment of indecision, wondering where to leave the robe. As Magnus steps forward to collect the robe from him he seems to interpret the indecision as shyness.

“You have nothing to be ashamed of, Alexander”, drawls Magnus in an admiring tone.

… Alec modestly disagrees, he believes his butt is nothing to write home about. He knows that Cat's team has seen some seriously impressive butt this week for example. After all, the club’s Chief Training Officer, Luke (National Champion, 2002; Mr October, 2017) was in the studio yesterday, lounging face-down on a couch, surrounded by artfully placed pumpkins.

However, Alec is not at all shy in normal gym situations about letting others see his body. After his awkward early teen years, Alec had a growth spurt and then quickly filled out thanks to his sparring & heavy training at Lightwood Gym.

Alec has experience of all sorts of looks sent in his direction, from both women and men.  
He’s seen dark-eyed open lust (when people thought he wasn't looking). He's seen leering (urrgh!). He's even seen plenty of sneering in the time since he came out (long-suffering sigh).

He has worked hard to establish and maintain the musculature needed to support excellence in archery - in his core, triceps and shoulders. It’s been hard, determined work. He’s proud of the result for purely functional reasons but he has been made perfectly aware over the recent years that it helps to attract handsome men if he wears a tighter T-shirt. Or even just does without in the right clubs. He briefly enjoys the attention on an insubstantial level if he’s in the mood, but the attraction of one-night stands has never held for him in the same way it does for the two eldest of his siblings. Increasingly this year he has thought it’d be nice to be noticed for something other than his lats.

But the looks from Magnus throughout the session are sometimes a smirk (amused at him or with him?)… sometimes coy, flirty. “Is Maths your favourite subject at college? 'Cos you're pretty in every angle.”

He seems a little shy, but also totally confident at the same moment. Alec doesn't know how he does it and he certainly doesn't understand it. But it's not leering, which is a relief given the vulnerable situation he's agreed to. It's not leering and there is certainly friendly respect in Magnus’ demeanour.

Alec convinces himself that this is Magnus’ manner. That he seems flirty by nature because he is so warm and friendly. That all the models for this beknighted calendar will have received some variation of these looks and compliments from Magnus, just as surely as they were all grumped at by Mr Not-December Ragnor.

“Why am I here?”, Alec grimaces and asks of himself yet again. “Well, I'm not going anywhere, so I'd better look to and get this over with.”

Magnus offers to remove his own shirt as well, in order to make the model more comfortable. Solidarity! Alec, Cat and Ragnor all immediately decline the offer, whilst Maia raises a brow slightly.

“This is a professionally-run studio, Magnus, no thank you.” reminds Cat.

But now the thought has been planted in Alec's mind and this time he cannot tear his eyes away from the way Magnus’ shirt is stretched as he adjusts the lighting rig.

Cat requests Alec's eyes on her, yet again. She has patience.

“Alec, how about you talk to me while you run through the movements, hmm?” suggests Cat. “Your tattoos are certainly photogenic, but they’re also fascinating. Please do explain them to me?”

“These? Errr, well they are called runes. They each represent a word... well, a characteristic useful in bouts of MMA. And in general life as well, I guess? My siblings and I all have them, as soon as we're old enough. It goes back generations in the Lightwood family.”

“We get a new one each time we begin to prepare for our next fight. But I stopped competing, so now I get one in support of Izzy or Jace when they prepare. So, umm, my first was this one on my neck. It’s the blocking rune, for deflection.”

“Some of these”, continues Alec as he nods towards his dominant arm, “are especially useful for archery. Here I have accuracy, sure-striking, recall, speed. On the other arm I have equilibrium, stealth, strength.”

“On my back, that cross-shaped one is calm anger. The others are courage in combat, flexibility, talent and endurance.”

“And round to the front I have healing, stamina, agility, and finally this one is my Parabatai rune that I share with my brother Jace. We both got that done on the anniversary of his adoption into our family, once he'd turned 16.”

Getting Alec to talk about a familiar subject does seem to help place him in a focussed mood. Cat is grateful, it results in some great photos as he fires off sets of arrows. The subject matter also has Magnus fascinated. He stares hungrily as Alec explains each rune. So for Cat there’s the added bonus that he is stunned into quiet for her for once, and stands stock still to hold the reflector beautifully.

At last Cat says, “Alec, that’s great for now! Do put the robe on again whilst you wait for us to shift some rig around for the next shot, thank you. Help yourself to a drink, eh?”

“So, Alec? Do you think there could be a rune useful for our work here?”

“Hmm, like ‘Autofocus’?” suggests Alec, sliding his arms back into the warm robe leaving the front open.

“Or ‘Perfect Framing’?” counters Cat, as she smiles sunnily at Alec.

“How about ‘Clear Skin’? ‘Watered Crops’?” mutters Ragnor. “What a load of 'Sheer Bunkum’.”

Magnus whispers, “Flexibility… Stamina…”, to himself, then shakes himself and says more loudly, “and… I’m back”. He still looks a little wide-eyed and dazed but stirs himself to begins the tasks Cat needs from him, setting up the next shot.

  
After two simple scenes showing off Alec’s back, and then his chest as he draws a bow to fire at the target, Cat asks for the equipment to be rotated again for their final planned shot. It will be a foreshortened shot along the arrow and down Alec's arm, with an out of focus background. For this, Cat has set up a remote trigger for her camera, rather than having to perch on a ladder next to the arrow as Alec draws the bow.

Whilst Alec stands on his mark, wrapped up and enjoying the warm robe once more, all the team are involved in shuffling backgrounds, light-stands and tripods into their correct spots. Ragnor catches his foot in a power cable and a lighting stand starts to tip over. Alec darts forward to catch it, just managing to prevent it from smashing onto the ground.

“Wow, that was graceful!”, Magnus says admiringly.

“Ha! ‘Sharp Reflexes’ rune! Well, no, actually just many years of sparring against Jace, it's made me quick on my feet”, says Alec, modestly deflecting the compliment.

“You know, I think there's something wrong with my eyes", ponders Magnus with a smirk.

“Really?” counters Alec.

  
"Yes, I can't keep them off you."

 

Magnus chatters away to Alec as they maneuver equipment for Cat, and Alec feels himself blushing at some more of his many off-hand comments and jokes.

He’s feeling a little confused and unsure of himself in the face of this attention from such an unbearably handsome man, and decides to focus on the work at hand… as he often does.

 

***

 

At last it's time for Alec to leave, after having shown Sebastian once more where to hold the crossbow (they took a reference photo this time, not trusting to anyone's memory), loaded a dummy bolt for safety, and reminded him yet again about maintaining a safe position pointing downrange.

Glum, he walks across the car park, berating himself for not taking a chance and asking for Magnus’ phone number. He can't keep relying on Clary to be his wingwoman: some day he has to make a move for himself, or his love life will never have a shot on target.

*****

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope I got the placement of Alec's runes mostly correct, after consulting the super Shadowhunters Wiki, using the info for show!Alec rather than book!Alec.  
> Took a little license in skipping some runes and adding the 'Sure-striking’ rune to Alec's arm. Boy, it's a busy arm! I reckoned he would feel the need of both 'Accuracy’ and 'Sure-striking’ if he were serious about his Archery Comps.
> 
> I hadn’t ever planned to have a regular posting schedule, but this was an overlong gap between chapters 3 & 4 for sure. I could blame the whole hour I spent on my other recently published work (my telling of Matt’s future-SH-on-the-moon tale from the OZ ComicCon 2018 https://archiveofourown.org/works/16158374)?  
> But - the delay was actually due to my lack of confidence in how to represent the Malec interactions in these next two chapters.
> 
> Ah, who am I kidding about the actual reason… I blame Trump!  
> (Vote him down if you have the power and then I can crack on in peace and quiet)
> 
> EDIT Jan '19 - not forgotten, just been distracted & a bit stuck.  
> Let me know what you think of it in the meantime eh?
> 
> Sneak peak from next chapter:  
> "Alec might breathe softly across the back of Magnus’ neck as he shifted his body to bring his face over to Magnus’ right ear.  
> 'Easy now,' he might whisper, as he slowly raised a hand."


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